News

Mikron's shareholders approve all proposals

Biel/Bienne, April 12, 2018, 6 p.m. – At this year's ordinary Annual General Meeting in Biel/Bienne, the shareholders of Mikron Holding AG approved all proposals by the Board of Directors. Among other things they agreed to a distribution from reserves from capital contributions of CHF 0.05 per share, the future remuneration of the Board of Directors and Group Management, and the Compensation Report for the past financial year. All members of the Board of Directors were reelected for a further term of one year. Paul Zumbühl, CEO of the Interroll Group, was elected to the Board of Directors.

At the Annual General Meeting, one shareholder also asked questions regarding impairment testing. The Board of Directors of the Mikron Group explained that the shareholders’ equity stated in the 2017 Annual Report is fully recoverable. It is sticking to the medium-term EBIT margin target of 5–7%.

Mikron sees significant increase in order intake

Biel, March 12, 2018, 7.00 a.m. – As expected, the second half of the year proved much better for the Mikron Group than the first. This is reflected in all three key indicators: order intake, sales and EBIT. The fact that the expectations published mid-year could nevertheless not be met is due to orders for a number of large customer projects coming in later than hoped. Over the year as a whole, order intake for Mikron manufacturing and automation systems was very volatile, resulting in an uneven distribution of production capacities. With incoming orders totalling CHF 278.9 million (previous year: CHF 243.6 million, +15%), the Group posted total annual sales of CHF 248.5 million (previous year: CHF 256.0 million, -3%) and EBIT of CHF 2.8 million (previous year: CHF 4.1 million, -32%). The innovation initiative launched in 2016 is on track. For 2018 the Group expects 10 to 20% growth in sales and, as a consequence, an improvement in EBIT.

In 2017, the general economic environment was stable overall, and demand for larger investment projects also picked up in the second half of the year. With Mikron customers’ production systems running at high capacity utilization levels, demand for tools and Mikron’s range of services was good. Numerous customers ordered retrofits for existing systems to be able to benefit from advances made in digitalization in the context of Industry 4.0 and to increase the productivity of their machines. With orders for a number of large customer projects coming in later than hoped, the expectations published mid-year could not be fully met.

Order intake

In the 2017 financial year, the Mikron Group saw 15% year-on-year growth in incoming orders to CHF 278.9 million. Up toward the end of the third quarter, the intake of orders for Mikron Machining’s systems business was very volatile and generally too low. Thanks to the sound economic environment above all in the fourth quarter, the business segment posted order intake of CHF 152.9 million, representing an overall increase of 33% compared with the low prior-year figure. Mikron Automation reported a 2% year-on-year decrease in order intake to CHF 126.0 million in 2017, due primarily to customer orders being postponed until the new year.

Net sales and order backlog

With annual sales of CHF 248.5 million, the Mikron Group was not quite able to reach the previous year’s result (CHF 256.0 million, -3%). While Mikron Machining succeeded in increasing sales by 7% on the back of strong tool and service business, the Automation business segment faced a decrease of 11%. After a very weak first half, Mikron Automation reported second-half sales in line with the corresponding year-back figure. At CHF 157.2 million, the Mikron Group’s order backlog at the end of 2017 was 28% higher than the prior-year figure.

Profitability

With EBIT at CHF 2.8 million in 2017, the Mikron Group fell short of the previous year’s result of CHF 4.1 million. While the Machining business segment witnessed an improvement in profitability, EBIT remains negative at CHF -1.6 million (previous year: CHF -5.2 million). The loss is mainly due to the low level of sales in the machinery business, especially in the first half of the year. Innovation project costs also put profitability under pressure. Factoring out this innovation spend, Mikron Machining would have achieved a positive EBIT margin. Following the good result recorded in 2016, Mikron Automation faced a significant decline in EBIT, from CHF 7.5 million to CHF 3.1 million in the 2017 financial year. Taking into account the 11% decrease in sales, the business segment still reported a solid EBIT margin of 2.5%.

Net result

In the year under review, the Mikron Group posted a net result of CHF 1.2 million (previous year: CHF 2.3 million) or CHF 0.07 per share (previous year: CHF 0.14). The Board of Directors will be proposing to the Annual General Meeting an unchanged distribution from capital reserves of CHF 0.05 per share.

Innovation initiative

The Mikron Group innovation initiative launched in 2016 is on track. In 2017, Mikron invested a total of CHF 8.8 million (previous year: CHF 7.1 million) in the development and expansion of new products and product platforms. This is equivalent to 3.5% of sales.

Outlook

The Mikron Group is not anticipating any fundamental changes in market conditions in 2018. Customer system capacity utilization rates are expected to remain high, which will continue to impact positively on the service and tool business. The tool business is looking to tap into further encouraging development opportunities on the US market. This is also true for Mikron Automation, once the uncertainties in the healthcare system have been resolved. The business segment should also be able to profit from the trend toward self-medication and from the fact that people are living increasingly longer. New market opportunities will present themselves to Mikron Machining in 2018 with capacity utilization still high in the automotive industry.

Given that orders in hand are relatively high – though they are unevenly distributed among the various production locations – Mikron expects 10 to 20% growth in sales for 2018 and thus an improvement in EBIT.

Javier Perez-Freije to become new Chief Financial Officer of the Mikron Group

Javier Perez-Freije to become new Chief Financial Officer of the Mikron Group

Biel, January 30, 2018, 7 a.m. – The Board of Directors of the Mikron Group has appointed Javier Perez-Freije as the Group’s new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mr. Perez-Freije has extensive, long-standing experience of finance in industrial companies. He will take up his new role on August 1, 2018.

Javier Perez-Freije (42) holds a Master of Business Administration and Engineering from the University of Siegen, Germany. Following further studies at New York University Stern School of Business, he completed his education with a dissertation at the University of St. Gallen. He has previously been head of controlling of a division of the Swiss industrial group Rieter, CFO of a US business unit of the Swiss automotive supplier Autoneum, and most recently CFO of Netstal-Machinery Ltd.

With his in-depth financial expertise and his experience of the machinery industry, Mr. Perez-Freije is ideally qualified for the role of CFO of the Mikron Group. He will take over from Martin Blom, who is leaving Mikron in April 2018.

Financial Calendar

Short Profile

The Mikron Group develops, produces and markets automation and machining systems that enable extremely precise and productive manufacturing processes. Rooted in the Swiss culture of innovation, the group is a globally leading partner to companies in the automotive, pharmaceutical, medtech, consumer goods, writing instruments and watchmaking industries. More About Mikron